Designed by architect Niels Guldager and featuring a ‘New American’ menu, the Vitae restaurant marries the history of New York’s Midtown with sound and acoustics design elements.

‘Bad sound can ruin an otherwise perfect restaurant environment,’ Guldager observes – displaying an awareness in advance of many of his contemporaries. ‘ I want the right background music level and clarity so people can hear the music but still hold a conversation. And clarity is key in getting sound into the sweet spot as a design element.’

Guldager worked with contractor David Schwartz of Essential Communications to design the sound system for Vitae – which is located near the Grand Central Terminal. ‘The restaurant’s design didn’t always allow us to place the loudspeakers in the best locations for coverage,’ Schwartz says. ‘And, the restaurant has several different ceiling heights.’

After weighing the challenges, Schwartz chose Community’s new D-Series ceiling loudspeakers, their smooth dispersion giving him good coverage throughout the restaurant. The D-Series also offered him seven different sized models, with uniform voicing, to help achieve consistent sound level and clarity in the different ceiling heights.

Schwartz chose D-Series 6-, 8- and 10-inch models and notes that he was able to achieve ‘good blending despite the three different models of loudspeaker’. The system also has zones for music adjustment and source selection. This allows a choice of level and music style for private parties in spaces like the mezzanine.

With its modern appearance, qualty food and attention to sound, Vitae has won excellent reviews from publications like the New York Post, Wall Street Journal and Virtual Gourmet, as well as from patrons’